I have always had an interest in the delicious flavor of smoked meats, so when I got my hands on a Traeger wood pellet grill I knew had to prepare a couple of smoked chickens. I used 2 whole 4lb chickens for this recipe. First I prepared a spice blend and then mixed it with butter and rubbed it under the skin and all over the outside of each chicken. I then placed the chicken onto the pellet grill and smoked the chickens at 350 degrees F. for about an hour and 30 minutes. The flavor of the pellets that I used to cook this chicken were the hickory bbq hardwood pellets.
What was great about the Traeger grill is the two temperature probes that can be placed into the meat the whole time while they are being smoked/grilled. This made it so that I would not have to open the lid frequently and let the heat out. The grill was also nice and easy to move around with an attached set of wheels. During the entire cooking process I could not wait to eat this chicken.
Once the chickens were finished cooking, I removed them from the grill and shredded some of the meat to use for sandwiches. What really impressed me was the amazing smoked flavor of the chicken. I have never had anything like it before. I cannot wait to try smoking other types of meats on the Traeger grill.
Shredded Smoked Chicken Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- Spice Blend-
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Chicken-
- ½ cup butter
- 2 (4lb) whole chickens
Instructions
- In a bowl combine all of the ingredients for the spice blend. In another bowl mix about 2 tablespoons of the spice blend with the melted butter.
- Rub the butter mixture all over the under the skin and on top of the chicken to coat as much as possible. Sprinkle the chickens with the remaining spice blend.
- Start the Traeger grill on Smoke with the lid open until the fire is established (4 to 5 minutes). Set the temperature to 350 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Place the chickens onto the grill.
- Roast chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (about 1 ½ hours). Let rest 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Enjoy!